Battle of Kaunas

The Battle of Kaunas occurred in June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. The German Army Group North, commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb, broke through Soviet defensive positions to capture the key city of Kaunas in the Lithuanian SSR.

History
Following a wave of preparatory Luftwaffe air raids on Soviet airbases, including the 57 SAD Air Base in Vilnius, Army Group North commander Wilhelm von Leeb gave the order to drive into the Lithuanian SSR. The Germans caught the Soviets by surprise, with an attack by Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt's II Armeekorps forcing the Soviet 33rd Rifle Division to retreat with heavy losses. To the southwest of Kaunas, another German thrust, carried out by the VI Armeekorps and the VIII Fliegerkorps under Otto Foerster, forced the Soviet 188th Rifle Division to retreat. Further south, the XXXIX Panzer Corps under Rudolf Schmidt broke through the 44th Fortified Region's lines, forcing the region to retreat with further losses.

With the front lines being pushed, further German forces maneuvered themselves to the north of Kaunas, with the XXIII Armeekorps advancing to the north of the city.